Magners League
Injured Cooper forced to leave Blues
ESPNscrum Staff
November 3, 2010
Cardiff Blues scrum-half Gareth Cooper is shackled by the Toulouse defence, Cardiff Blues v Toulouse, Heineken Cup, Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales, December 12, 2009
Gareth Cooper has left Cardiff Blues © PA Photos
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Wales scrum-half Gareth Cooper has left Cardiff Blues due to a persistent groin injury.

The 31-year-old joined the Blues from Gloucester in 2009 but has been limited to 22 appearances for the region due to the problem.

He has been advised by medical professionals to take a six to 12-month hiatus from the game in order to rest.

"I've come to an amicable agreement with Cardiff Blues and would like to thank them for all their support over the years," he said. "It's been a frustrating couple of years for me and things haven't quite worked as I'd hoped. I don't think I've shown my full potential at the Blues due to the groin injury.

"I've been told by the medical team that I need a full rest from the game for between 6 to 12 months. The groin injury started to hurt in the summer of 2009 and it's got progressively worse. Throughout that period I'd been playing with a lot of pain and had to have two operations on the groin and then a double hernia operation.

"This season I've played 20 minutes against Treviso and started against Connacht but I had to take pain killers, so the doctors have recommended that I am to rest fully for up to a year."

Cooper won the last of his Wales caps against Scotland in the 2010 Six Nations and played at two Rugby World Cups, in 2003 and 2007, as well as touring with the British & Irish Lions in 2005.

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